Pegram plans motorcycle dealership, school at former Cooper Stadium

Monday

May 19, 2014 at 12:01 AMMay 20, 2014 at 5:48 AM

Larry Pegram, third-generation motorcycle racer and star of reality show Superbike Family, has announced plans to own and operate a motorcycle dealership, performance shop and racing academy at the Sports Pavilion & Automotive Research Center. The center, known as SPARC, is under construction at the site of the former Cooper Stadium.

Steve Wartenberg, The Columbus Dispatch

Most of Larry Pegram’s fondest memories involve motorcycles circling racetracks at high speeds.

“I’m a third-generation racer,” said the Columbus native and star of the American Motorcyclist Association SuperBike series and Superbike Family reality show.

With an eye toward his post-racing career, Pegram, 40, has announced a plan to own and operate a motorcycle dealership, performance shop and racing academy at the Sports Pavilion and Automotive Research Complex. The development is under construction at the site of the former Cooper Stadium.

“I heard about SPARC and really wanted to be involved,” said Pegram, who lives near Granville. “ It’s a really unique facility. You don’t see a downtown racing complex with so many different things going on.”

The SPARC racetrack and office complex could be completed by the end of 2015 or spring of the following year, said Bill Schottenstein, principal of Arshot Investment Corp., the Columbus-based developer of SPARC.

Pegram’s dealership might be operational earlier. “We could open before the racetrack is completed,” Pegram said. “I’m hoping to open in about a year.”

SPARC already has attracted some of the big names of motorsports.

It will feature the Richard Petty Driving Experience, which allows patrons to fly around a racetrack at high speeds. NASCAR team owner and driver Michael Waltrip is a SPARC investor, and his team will use the complex as a research and test site.

Central Ohio high-end auto dealer Midwestern Auto Group will have a facility and showroom at SPARC.

It’s important for a racetrack to be affiliated with names such as Petty, Waltrip and Pegram, one observer says.

“This is the norm,” said Marion Cantor of the North Carolina

Motorsports and Automotive Research Center at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. “They need big names to get people to notice, and race fans are big on supporting their favorite drivers."

Motorsports suffered during the recession.

“Things have been improving, and jobs are coming back,” Cantor said, adding that not many racetracks have been built in the past few years.

“A new growth like (SPARC) is good for the sport. There are a lot of race fans in the (central Ohio) area, and this will help increase the fan base,” she said.

Pegram turned professional in 1988 and has been a consistent top-10 finisher in the American Motorcyclist Association SuperBike series. He finished sixth in the 2013 overall rider standings, with five top-five finishes.

“I’m the old guy now,” he said. “But I’m still running up front, and people still want to pay me to race their motorcycles.”

His next race will be at the Road America track in Elkhart Lake, Wis., from May 30 to June 1.

swartenberg@dispatch.com

@stevewartenberg

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.